[nabs-l] volunteering

[Kaiti Shelton]

Hi,

I've found the best way to look for opportunities is to just go out
and find them.  Listen to what others are doing around you.  If
someone wins a scholarship from a local thing in your area and there
is a bio that says, "He volunteers at place X doing work with the
Elderly, and place Y helping the homeless," and those things sound
appealing to you, call the locations and see if they could use the
extra set of hands.  I've found the name of the game in volunteering
is just making yourself known and available to the agencies because
otherwise they won't always be actively looking for volunteers.

In my experiences, it is rare that someone else will put you in touch
with an opportunity.  I've only had that happen to me once, and I
don't expect that to happen again since it was just fortunate
circumstance.  If you can find an email on a web site, try that first
as people check email much more quickly than phone these days.  If you
need to try calling do it.  If they want an in-person interview,
arrange it as best you can.  (I did that for one of my volunteer jobs
and it was really beneficial.  I got to know the staff in advance,
learn the layout of the building, and they got a sense of how I could
fit into the agency and how they could use my help.  If this is what
they ask for, do your best to make it work.

Try volunteering with psychologists.  Some will offer that to high
school students interested in the field.  In my experiences doing work
that was confidential, you may need to sign a form stating that you
won't reveal personal information about clients, but it's nothing that
will keep you from working with the agency.  Try to see if you can
work at a hospital of some sort.  That would have endless
opportunities for networking with different people and different age
groups.  Schools are great too.  In my senior year I got to job shadow
a speech pathologist, even though I was in a teaching program.  Try to
tie things in from interdisciplinary fields whenever possible.  I
think all the suggestions given sound great, but I will send more if I
think of them.

On 12/1/13, Lillie Pennington <lilliepennington at fuse.net> wrote:
> This raises a good question. How does one go about finding the
> opportunities?
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Nov 29, 2013, at 3:09 PM, Rebecca Sabo <beckyasabo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi
>> How do you get involved to fine volunteer positions ?  I have my AA degree
>> in Human Services.  I am working toward my BA in human services.  I am
>> looking for work or volunteer in the field of human service.  I need more
>> work experience on my resume.
>> Becky
>>> On Nov 28, 2013, at 1:33 PM, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi illie,
>>>
>>> I volunteered for a teen crisis hotline when I was in high school. It
>>> would be a great way to learn what it is like to counsel people
>>> dealing with serious life challenges and to see if this is something
>>> you enjoy and feel comfortable with. You could also volunteer for a
>>> Hospice or other facility that involves nursing care. Some of these
>>> kinds of programs may have job shadow or summer intern opportunities
>>> for teens. Good luck!
>>> Arielle
>>>
>>>> On 11/27/13, Lillie Pennington <lilliepennington at fuse.net> wrote:
>>>> Thanks for all of the suggestions. I will begin looking into some
>>>> nonprofits
>>>> around here and talking to some people as to what I could do. Again,
>>>> thanks
>>>> for all the help.
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>>> On Nov 27, 2013, at 10:41 PM, "Ashley Bramlett"
>>>>> <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Lillie,
>>>>> I suggest you job shadow some people in these fields. Also conduct
>>>>> informational interviews which basically means you interview someone
>>>>> in
>>>>> the field about their job; ask how they got there, what skills they
>>>>> use,
>>>>> what typical duties are like, and what they like and dislike about the
>>>>> job.
>>>>>
>>>>> Its smart of you to research careers because so many people just take
>>>>> jobs
>>>>> they don't like or they go to higher education and study a lot. After
>>>>> studying and obtaining a degree, they get jobs and find out they hate
>>>>> the
>>>>> field.
>>>>>
>>>>> Preparing early will help you get a good career and a happy one too.
>>>>> To volunteer, look at nonprofits.
>
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-- 
Kaiti